Chapter 1

                                    

                                          

Wendy tried to keep her breathing under control as she pushed a loose strand of her soft brown hair that had fallen from her bun behind her ear. She was falling behind her tall boyfriend as they walked through the mall. She could feel her feet swelling in her hiking boots but she knew better than to complain since he was already in a bad mood. Her army green capris were starting to irritate her skin but at least she was wearing her favorite black muscle top that had a print saying "Nope Not Today!" 
Her boyfriend stood at five-foot-ten inches making her five-foot-four height feel too small in comparison. Today he was in a dark grey shirt saying "Fuck Off", black jeans, and black combat boots to complete the look in enhancing the brightness of his dark blue eyes with dark brown medium-length hair covered by a plain black snapback hat. 
He was on a mission with his fast pacing through the Charleston Mall and he didn't want to be interrupted by her struggling to keep up. Despite her trying her best to stay with him, it really did look like he was dragging her along with the annoyed look on his face. 
"Hurry the fuck up! I am not going to lose out on this deal because of your slow ass!" Paul grumbled as he yanked harder on her wrist. Wendy stumbled and almost missed her footing before changing to a jogging pace so she wouldn't fall and irritate him even more than he already was.
"Paul, please slow down! I can't keep up and if I fall, I could injure the..." she pleaded before getting cut off.
"What the hell did you just call me?" Paul glared over his shoulder with such intensity she visibly shuttered.
"Sorry, Sir," she whispered while dropping her head down in a show of submission. 
"Hmph, you better be Wendy. Knock off the attitude otherwise you can't blame me for what comes next," he whispered harshly for her to hear. 
"Yes, Sir, sorry, Sir," Wendy said softly as she cast her eyes down to stare at her feet. 'Maybe if I watch my steps I can prevent losing my footing. He's dragging me to the destination anyway. I doubt he'd let me bump into anyone seeing as he wants to get there as soon as possible' she thought.
They finally reached their destination, a popular athletic shop that had been recently opened, called Lost Boyz. The store had its own product line with a limited quantity. The exact reason they were going was to pick up the limited-edition basketball shoes Paul had previously reserved. Wendy was so out of breath she hunched forward and rested her hands on her knees as she took deep breaths.
"Just go sit on that bench here inside the front of the store while I go get my shit. Don't go wandering off as we're leaving as soon as I am done," Paul commanded before taking off further into the store. 
Wendy sighed as she finally was able to rest her aching feet. Her stomach felt as though it was churning and flipping all over while her brain was pounding to its own beat. "Urgh," Wendy groaned as she held her head in her hands. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and sat up to relieve the pressure on her lungs then tilted her head back so that when she opened her eyes she was looking up at the ceiling. Even though she knew it would make Paul even madder, she hoped that it would take a while before he got his shoes just so she could sit there on the bench and catch her breath while taking the pressure off her feet. The longer she sat the better she felt.
Feeling like she could breathe again, she looked around the store. It was nice, shoes were lining one part of a wall and shirts on the other half of it. There across from her was a medium red shirt with Lost Boyz written across it. Tears filled her eyes as the name made her heartache. 
Back many years ago she had a lost boy named Nathan that had red hair that was an almost exact match to the shade of red on the shirt. He was her everything and one of his favorite things to do was call him her lost boy. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, okay maybe she didn't want Paul to have to wait any longer. This store was bringing back memories she didn't want to think about anymore.  
"Excuse me, Miss, are you okay?" a deep baritone voice called out to her from her left causing her to turn towards it. It wasn't the brightest decision as it just caused her to get dizzy and the nauseous feeling to slam into her more.
"What?" She asked as she didn't see anyone. 
"Are you okay?" the voice asked as a man appeared from behind a shelf. He had socks and laces in his hand, indicating that he was restocking. 
"I'm fine," she smiled politely. "But thank you for asking." 
The man started walking toward her as she undid the bun since it was starting to hurt making her soft waves drop past her shoulders. He froze and blinked a couple of times as she turned to look at him face-to-face. "Oh my god, Wendy?" he asked as he stopped in front of her. 
Her breath left her as she looked up into the soft blue eyes, tan sun-kissed skin with a faint dusting of freckles, and reddish brown hair of the man she was just thinking about. "Nathan Griffin?" She gasped in disbelief. 
"Wow," Nathan chuckled, "It's been a while, Wendy Girl." 
She winced then quickly smiled, "Yeah, it's been a bit. How have you been, Nathan? Still with Sarah?" 
He shook his head, "Nah, that was over a long time ago. But I'm good, the guys and I live together now." 
She smiled, "That always was your dream. Glad to see it came true. Guessing this is your place with that silly name." 
He beamed with pride, "Yep. Couldn't pass up using our name. You're the one that always believed in me. Without you I couldn't have my dream, so only seemed fitting." 
"You're silly," she shook her head, "That was all you. I had nothing to do with it." 
"Oh no, we're not having this," he smirked. "You can't deny your involvement in me getting my dream. Anyway, how are you?" 
"I'm okay," she said while biting her lower lip and turning to look out into the mall. "Been with Paul for about six months now." 
"That's good," Nathan said softly as he took in her appearance. He noticed how her tone changed as she spoke. "Is he the one getting our shoes up at the counter?" She nodded. He didn't like how the guy was talking to one of his best friends Gabe, that's why he had grabbed some items and started restocking. If he had stayed behind the counter he would have lost control and said something that could have caused some issues. Now he was so glad that Gabe was good with customer service and he had walked away. If he hadn't then he wouldn't have reunited with his Wendy Girl. "He's treating you like you deserve, right?" Nathan couldn't help asking, trying to keep her talking to hear her sweet soft voice after all this time.
"He.." Wendy began but the man suddenly appeared. 
"Ready to go, Love?" Paul asked as he put his hand on her elbow. "Sorry for taking so long, they wanted to make sure I was the one who put the order. Oh, was I interrupting?" 
"No," she replied quickly while smiling up at him. "Paul, this is Nathan. You remember me telling you about my ex Nathan? I didn't know he owned this store. He was just telling me about his store." 
"Well isn't that great, I'm sure he is a busy man with a new store to run and all. Plus, you were telling me how you weren't feeling well. We should get you home right now," Paul said placidly as his grip on her tightened as he tugged on her lightly. 
"Yes," she nodded as she gripped his shirt to keep her balance. "That sounds good." 
"Hi, Nathan Griffin," Nathan said as he held his hand out. "Thanks for purchasing our shoes. I hope you like them." 
"Oh I will," Paul nodded as he shook his hand, "Paul Jones, Wendy's fiance." 
"Wow, fiance after six months," Nathan said in a fake shocked tone. "Must be love." 
"It is," Paul said in a determined tone before turning to face Wendy, "let's get you home." 
She nodded as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Paul started to pull her out of the store when she turned back to Nathan. "Oh Nathan, that question you asked me, well there are many different kinds of bravery. I hope that helps you solve the problem you're dealing with. It was nice seeing you again, goodbye, Nathan." She turned back to Paul and rested her head on his arm as he led her out of the store.  
Nathan felt the blood drain out of his face as he watched her walk away. Oh shit...